Rhode Island International Film Festival 2009

The documentary Up From the Bottoms: The Search for the American Dream tells the story of the massive migration of African Americans from the rural south to the prosperous north during the war years and beyond. The voice of Cicely Tyson guides us through these touching, thoughtful and often funny stories as told by fifteen residents of Muskegon, Michigan. Civil rights activist, comedian and author Dick Gregory gives a national perspective along with the renowned scholar of Black Americana studies, Dr. Ben Wilson. During the late 1930's through the 1960's, factory jobs in the north were abundant while farming jobs in the southern states were disappearing. In the 1940's alone, a million and a half African Americans left the south and spread across this land. The were looking for a better life, the American dream. This documentary reveals the human side of the migration and the character of the people who chose to make this noble journey.